A peaceful week-long cruise to the Norwegian fjords on board the Britannia ship turned bloody just a day before its return to Southampton, when one of the passengers appeared in a buffet area wearing a clown costume shortly after a black-tie event in the evening on 25 July, Richard Gaisford, a correspondent for ITV who was present at the scene, reported.
According to witnesses interviewed by Gaisford, the conflict erupted after one of the passengers, who had specifically booked a cruise "with no fancy dress", got "upset" over the clown's appearance at the buffet. The black-tie event was preceded by "patriotic" partying on deck with large quantities of alcohol.
"Just to clarify, the majority of those onboard were perfectly civilised and nice individuals. It was just ruined by a few drunk idiots", one of the passengers told the newspaper Metro.
In the ensuing fight, the combatants used whatever objects they had at hand, such as furniture and plates, as weapons. A total of six people, three men and three women, were injured and two passengers were arrested by the ship's security and locked-up in a cabin for the last day of cruise. The two were later handed over to police in Southampton.
“There was blood everywhere”. Violent late night brawl in the buffet onboard @pocruises Britannia left staff who intervened injured, as passengers used furniture and plates as weapons. Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought.
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) July 27, 2019
"There was blood everywhere", Gaisford said of the situation in the buffet after the incident. The correspondent further shared that the staff claimed that they had "never experienced anything like" the melee that erupted on the ship on the night between 25 and 26 July.
Cruise Law News, an online portal focusing on legal aspects of maritime cruises, noted following reports of the incident that the cause of such problems is usually alcohol on board, along with poor security personnel training.
